Hello, I am a 34 year old wife who has had Crohn's disease for over 20 years now (diagnosed at age 11). My husband and I have been married for four years, and since I will finally be graduating, God willing, next May, with my Bachelors in Adolescent Education, we figured that next year would be a good time to start a family (assuming I can get a job as a teacher in this economy).
I have a plethora of concerns however:
The first is that after having Toxic-Megacolon at age 22 (12 years ago), I immediately had to have literally all (with the exception of four inches) of my colon removed. The fact that I have upwards to 5 to 10 bowel movements a day hasn't and doesn't faze me a bit. However because of the surgery (originally it was an ileostomy in which I had to wait 9 months to reverse because of first a coma and then not soon after, my incision split open leaving a huge gaping whole in my stomach in where my muscle walls still haven't closed completely), I am left with not only an abdominal area that I am not sure will withold the stretching of the abdominal walls that pregnancy obviously brings, but also malbsorption, which I have suffered from on and off throughout the past 20 years, including right now.
So to make a long story short, I have two main questions that concern me greatly everytime my husband and I talk about starting a family:
The first is, Can my abdominal walls, which have not fully closed after my incision split open (if I place my fingers on my incision and push, I can go down probably over 5 inches), withstand the serious stretching of the abdominal area that obviously comes with pregnancy, and
Secondly, how can I circumvent (if at all) malabsorption and what risk(s) would it pose to my baby and myself? My aunt, who is a nurse, explained to me that if I did become pregnant, whatever nutrients I did absorb would automatically go to the baby, which upon hearing, relieved me, but did little to assuage my husband's fears, as he is not willing to sacrifice his wife to have a child (obviously, this is a concern for me as well).
I realize that I would be considered a high-risk pregnancy, as that, not only do I have the normal medical issues that Crohn's patients hoping to become pregnant face, but additionally, I have to deal with the serious complication of not having my large intestine, and the medical predictaments that it presents as well.
Lastly, I am curious if anyone at all knows of any excellent obstetricians that specialize in high-risk pregnancies in the Central New York state region as well as any notable gastroenterologists (actually I would even say anywhere in New York state in general since I am more than willing to drive), Although I am actually from Central New York, I just moved back only recently after living out of state for over 15 years).
Anyone is more than welcome to respond (in fact the more the better with all the possible ideas and experiences you all can bring to the table!), but I would be extremely grateful to hear from a medical professional, especially one in the gastroenterology and/or obstetrics field, if at all possible.
Thank you,
Nella :rosette1:
I have a plethora of concerns however:
The first is that after having Toxic-Megacolon at age 22 (12 years ago), I immediately had to have literally all (with the exception of four inches) of my colon removed. The fact that I have upwards to 5 to 10 bowel movements a day hasn't and doesn't faze me a bit. However because of the surgery (originally it was an ileostomy in which I had to wait 9 months to reverse because of first a coma and then not soon after, my incision split open leaving a huge gaping whole in my stomach in where my muscle walls still haven't closed completely), I am left with not only an abdominal area that I am not sure will withold the stretching of the abdominal walls that pregnancy obviously brings, but also malbsorption, which I have suffered from on and off throughout the past 20 years, including right now.
So to make a long story short, I have two main questions that concern me greatly everytime my husband and I talk about starting a family:
The first is, Can my abdominal walls, which have not fully closed after my incision split open (if I place my fingers on my incision and push, I can go down probably over 5 inches), withstand the serious stretching of the abdominal area that obviously comes with pregnancy, and
Secondly, how can I circumvent (if at all) malabsorption and what risk(s) would it pose to my baby and myself? My aunt, who is a nurse, explained to me that if I did become pregnant, whatever nutrients I did absorb would automatically go to the baby, which upon hearing, relieved me, but did little to assuage my husband's fears, as he is not willing to sacrifice his wife to have a child (obviously, this is a concern for me as well).
I realize that I would be considered a high-risk pregnancy, as that, not only do I have the normal medical issues that Crohn's patients hoping to become pregnant face, but additionally, I have to deal with the serious complication of not having my large intestine, and the medical predictaments that it presents as well.
Lastly, I am curious if anyone at all knows of any excellent obstetricians that specialize in high-risk pregnancies in the Central New York state region as well as any notable gastroenterologists (actually I would even say anywhere in New York state in general since I am more than willing to drive), Although I am actually from Central New York, I just moved back only recently after living out of state for over 15 years).
Anyone is more than welcome to respond (in fact the more the better with all the possible ideas and experiences you all can bring to the table!), but I would be extremely grateful to hear from a medical professional, especially one in the gastroenterology and/or obstetrics field, if at all possible.
Thank you,
Nella :rosette1: